Just wanted to let everyone know about an interview with me that is published over at Boomer & Echo. There is also a book giveaway, so if you want a chance at a free RESP book – head on over to enter.
Thanks a lot to Robb for doing the interview.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I don’t think the weather can get any better than that. We were in Northern Ontario and I took my kids swimming at the beach.
If you read this blog through an RSS reader or via email, you’ll notice that you have to click through to the site to read the entire article. I made this change as a result of all the “scraper sites” which are sites that copy articles from various blog feeds and post them on a different site. It’s not clear exactly how Google treats this duplicate content, so to be on the safe side I’m going to try to eliminate the problem altogether.
Early Retirement Extreme has a interesting and funny post explaining how he lives on $7,000 per year.
Paula from Afford Anything had a great post called Stop crying that there are no jobs and create one. Love it!
Squawkfox has a delightfully scary recipe for Halloween monster meat heads.
Larry MacDonald talks about the welfare state and the debt supercycle.
Michael James has an interesting way of evaluating financial goals.
The Oblivious Investor answers the question it is ok to sell low when fixing a broken portfolio?
My Own Advisor has a bunch of reasons for investing in dividend stocks.
Echo wrote is comparing his spending to his financial goals.
Canadian Capitalist says that current stock volatility is normal.
A Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there! If you don’t feel like reading any money articles – check out Funny food turkeys, which is a post my wife did a couple of years ago.
Last weekend I went to Chicago for the first annual Financial Blogger Convention. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed that conference. Well, actually I can – read my complete conference review if you are interested.
Chicago has some rivers/canals going through the downtown area which is very neat. We did an architectural boat tour and I’ve included a couple of pics.
It was really good to finally meet up with people that I’ve known online for several years and have never met in person. There were too many people to list, but I was especially happy to finally meet Mike Piper from the Oblivious Investor, who has been a great book publishing mentor to me. There have been many, many emails between us over the last year and half since I started my first book and I’m thinking I probably should have bought him dinner or for that matter – paid for his trip for all the help he has given me. Maybe next year I’ll buy him a drink. 😉
Other people I met up with that readers of this blog might know:
Katherine Scarrow from the Globe & Mail wrote a good article: Don’t let home maintenance costs crush your budget. She mentioned my recent post about estimating home maintenance costs.
Ever wonder how to make your own homemade dishwasher detergent and rinse agent? Me neither. But after noticing there was almost 550 comments on this article, I’m a bit intrigued. Plus we keep running out of the stuff and it doesn’t work that well. I’d love to try more DIY solutions for common products, mainly because I’m curious as to how they are made.
Josh wrote about Five ways to bust procrastination on Krystal’s blog – I really like the last point about opportunity cost, which was crystallized (no pun intended) in the comments by Josh –
“Do I want to pay $40 to read the NY Times right now?”
No – no, I don’t! There is a cost to everything and that includes the time you spend reading articles that don’t really need to be read.
Canadian Capitalist shows how currency unhedged portfolios are less volatile. Both CC and I are big fans of unhedged foreign investing which is a fancy way of saying we like to invest in other countries, with their currency.
Jeremy from GenXFinance wrote a great post on how to be a conservative investor. It’s written from an American point of view, but it’s valid for Canadians. A good read.
Evan from My Journey to Millions had an interesting piece on people who should grow up (not exactly the words he used). He’s right – just because you aren’t successful, doesn’t mean it isn’t your fault.
The Finance Buff had a very good article where he comments on how a lot of people have an irrational sensitivity to service price increases.
Million Dollar Journey updates on his 2011 stock picks. FT did pretty well and might be a contender this year!
Thousandaire has some advice for “occupy Wall Street” movement.
Cash Money Life says that banks have a right to make a profit.
Wealth Informatics has an indepth analysis on how large her emergency fund should be.
Last weekend I took my kids to the beach at Ashbridges Bay. It was sunny and about 24 degrees Celsius which is pretty amazing for the end of September.
The waves were fairly large, which was a lot of fun for the kids and myself. The water wasn’t as warm as it had been during August, but we weren’t complaining.
As you can see from the picture, kite boarders were in abundance.
Rob Carrick warns about outrageous bank fees and gives an example of a senior who paid $1305 to transfer three accounts to a new financial institution. This is robbery – normally you wouldn’t pay more than $150/account to move.
Steadyhand had a related post about the inefficiencies of investment account transfers between institutions. The aforementioned $1,350 fee is one such type of inefficiency.
Garry Marr had an interesting story about buying gold level Leafs tickets for $25.
The Finance Buff says that buying on the dips is just fine.
Canadian Mortgage Trends had a nice tribute to Fraser Smith who created the Smith Maneouvre.
Canadian Capitalist reveals that dividends are not the only way to get money from your portfolio.
Seeking Alpha reminds investors not to get complacent about dividend champion stocks.
Echo wrote about his net worth. This is part of the MoneySense guide to financial freedom.
Michael James said that buying on the dips isn’t necessary the best way to invest.
Million Dollar Journey explains what a pension adjustment is.
My Own Advisor is all about stock dividend dripping.
The Oblivious Investor is demanding portfolio rebalancing in his brokerage accounts.
Retire Happy had a good post on why you shouldn’t sell when the stock markets drop.
Are Kids Really That Expensive?
Scotia iTrade Discount Stock Brokerage Review
How To Become A Millionaire
How We Paid Cash For Our New Car
Should You Use Credit Cards During Retirement?
What is a Mutual Fund Prospectus?
Last weekend we went to the lovely city of Kingston, Ontario. It was a short trip – we left early Saturday morning and got home at dinner time on Sunday. A friend of mine invited us for a bbq and we decided to go (at the last minute), since I hadn’t seen him and a few other friends in attendance for a long time.
The weekend cost a small fortune – super expensive hotel room and a couple of restaurant lunches, but it certainly was fun. Now that we know how nice Kingston is we will certainly do a return visit. Possibly combining it with a trip to Sandbanks provincial park.
Moneyville was kind enough to publish an article I wrote, Why I have a $20,000 emergency fund.
Canajun Finances has some RESP back-to-school reminders.
Canadian Dream had a great post called the war on stuff. I need to clean out my basement too.
Sustainable Personal Finance canceled his cable and came up with 10 reasons to cancel your cable. I’m quite impressed by the amount he is saving. I’m not canceling my cable though. 🙂
Rob from Canadian Mortgage Trends wrote a very good article about why a fixed mortgage is a better choice over variable. Very good analysis.
Oblivious Investor says that you can’t assume your effective taxes will go up when deciding between a tax-deferred account or an after-tax account.
Nicolas Johnson from the Globe & Mail wrote about the lessons of Japan’s lost decades. Diversify!
Retire Happy extols the virtues of low fee mutual funds.
Kevin Press “Today’s Economy” is now blogging at the new Brighter Life website – go check him out!
Krystal had an interesting article about four lies we tell ourselves about home ownership.
The Wealthy Canadian explains RRSPs.
Michael James has a different approach to explaining index investing.
My Own Advisor learned some financial lessons from his wife.
Boomer & Echo also had some financial goal discussions with his wife.
Canadian Capitalist builds a diversified portfolio using commission-free ETFs.
Million Dollar Journey talks about Scotia iTrade offers commission free ETFs.
Best of Money Carnival – I was fortunate to be selected as one of the top 10 posts.
Festival of Frugality – My article was the #2 editor’s pick.
Carnival of Financial Planning 09-16-2011
Welcome to the September 16, 2011 Edition #202 of the Carnival of Financial Planning.
The Carnival of Financial Planning
takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals
and families. We focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial
planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.
This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.
Enjoy!
The Skilled Investor, Editor
Marie presents Pay Bills Promptly and Save posted at Money Spending Mommy,
saying, “The simple act of paying your bills on time can save you lots
of money each year. Here are some tips for getting everything paid when
it is supposed to be.”
Jonathan from Debt Loans presents Give the Gift of Financial Finesse: Your Young Child posted at Wallet Watcher,
saying, “Money is, for better or for worse, one of those things people
learn about early in life. If a child learns the wrong things and gets
the wrong impression, a multitude of adult financial woes can be the
result. Parents, here are some money concepts to teach your young
children, and tips on how to make them work in your family.”
simond presents Budgeting Business posted at True to Business, saying, “This article is about budgeting in business. I think its pretty thorough.”
Mike Holman presents A practical way to estimate and budget for home maintenance costs posted at Money Smarts Blog,
saying, “Traditional methods of calculating home maintenance costs can
be misleading. Here is a more accurate to handle house maintenance
costs.”
Miranda presents 45 Ways to Save Money posted at Financial Highway,
saying, “You can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your
personal economy by finding ways to save more money. Here are 45 of my
favorite ways to save money.”
Janet presents Frugal Living: Save Money on Food Costs posted at Credit, Eh,
saying, “Happily, with a little planning, you can save money on food
costs, by reducing the need to eat out. Here are some strategies that
can help.”
Jonathan presents Mint.com Review: The Ultimate Budgeting Software posted at Deliver Away Debt,
saying, “Mint is a full featured money management website owned and run
by the famous TurboTax. Mint is always on the lookout to provide the
best and most revolutionary services all at zero cost to you. At the
core of Mint is a passion for helping the masses manage their money.”
Rogan Seager presents Retirement Savings Calculator posted at Retirement Savings Calculator,
saying, “Valuable future investment portfolio assets and future
investment returns slip through many people’s fingers at the checkout
stand every day, because they spend beyond their long-term means.”
FIRE Finance presents What is the Current Unemployment Rate? posted at FIRE Finance,
saying, “Unemployment has been a rising concern since the US economy
went into recession. At present, our president is trying to boost
employment by providing tax cuts and tax credits to encourage
businesses to hire. In most reports concerning the US economy, the
unemployment rate is frequently mentioned. But many are at a loss for
understanding what this number really means. Let’s take a look at the
unemployment numbers and try to unravel its real meaning.”
Boomer presents Estate Planning: Protect Your Assets posted at Boomer & Echo, saying, “Estate planning is not something that concerns only the rich or the elderly. Everyone should have an estate plan.”
Investor Junkie presents How to Become Wealthy posted at Investor Junkie,
saying, “In my opinion, over 20 – 30 years everyone should be able to
at least achieve some level of financial independence, but most don’t.
A recent survey showed 64% of Americans don’t have $1,000 in savings.
Which means many are living pay check to pay check.”
Jonathan from Debt Loans presents 5 Useful Steps to Manage Your Windfall posted at Frugal Living,
saying, “Have you received an inheritance, lotto money or work bonus
recently? Think of how you can stretch the money by generating passive
income for yourself from your windfall through sound investment
methods.”
Moneyedup presents How to Open a Roth IRA posted at MoneyedUP,
saying, “Among individual retirement accounts, the Roth IRA stands out
because of its special tax advantages. Instead of providing tax breaks
at the time of deposit, Roth IRAs allow account holders to receive
benefits completely tax free after retirement.”
Judy Blackburn presents Practical Tips for Saving Money at College posted at Debt Consolidation, saying, “Here are a number of tips to help you find areas in which you can save some money while at college.”
Ciana Locke presents Market Index Funds posted at Best Index Mutual Funds,
saying, “The dominant issue in choosing among passively managed index
mutual funds and ETF funds benchmarked against the S & P 500 is
that securities industry management and trading fees are all over the
map from reasonably low to shockingly high.”
Paula presents What’s Wrong With Most Money Advice? posted at Afford Anything,
saying, “The world is over-saturated in money management advice. And
yet many of my friends have never heard of a Roth IRA. So many people
are deep in debt. Why? Where are we screwing up?”
Crystal presents Bowling Leagues are Dang Expensive! posted at Budgeting In The Fun Stuff,
saying, “An effective financial plan will include money for you to
enjoy yourself. Letting loose can help you stay motivated and continue
toward your financial goals.”
Frank Knight presents Investment Asset Allocation posted at Retirement Planning Software,
saying, “When you are already there and invested in an asset class, you
are following a passive asset allocation strategy. Tactical asset
allocation strategy advocates suggest that you can anticipate the
crowd, but flow-of-funds studies show that almost all tactical asset
allocation fund flows are late money flows that chase performance after
valuations have already moved.”
Suba presents Financial Planning for the middle class posted at Wealth informatics,
saying, “Many financial planners ignore the middle class and want to
take only wealthy clients.Here is how to find a financial planner for
middle class salary”
MoneyCone presents Demystifying Mortgages For The First Time Home Buyer posted at Money Cone,
saying, “The American dream isn’t complete till you own a home! No one
likes a depressed economy, but with it comes low interest rates. This
is as good a time as any to buy or refinance a home. Just don’t go
overboard! Evaluate your financial situation, cover the basics, educate
yourself and make a decision.”
Jon Elder presents How to Save Money by Renting College Textbooks posted at Free Money Wisdom,
saying, “You have the ability to save a lot of money off of your
textbook cost each semester, and you won’t have to worry about getting
taken to the cleaners by your on-campus bookstore ever again if you
rent books.”
Jason@LiveRealNow presents Jobs I’ve Had posted at Live Real, Now,
saying, “I’m 32 and I’ve had 1 month out of the last 26 years that
didn’t come with a paycheck. I’ve worked for 10 different companies and
I start the job before this one when I was 20.”
Kyle Taylor presents Rent Your Clothes Online for Extra Money posted at The Penny Hoarder,
saying, “For some reason my closet is still holding onto the suit I
wore to prom nearly 10 years ago. It’s never going to fit again, but
some combination of laziness and sentiment has thus far kept it from
landing on a Goodwill rack. If you’re like me and have a closet full of
stuff you don’t wear, what would you think about renting your clothes
out to strangers?”
FMF presents The Most Overlooked Step in the Job-Hunting Process posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, “Want a simple but effective way to separate yourself from the
job-hunting pack? Write a thank-you note after every interview.”
Intelligent Speculator presents Cash Is King – Just Ask Warren Buffett posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “How much cash are you holding?”
DGB presents TSX Dividend Yield and Ex-Dividend Date posted at The Dividend Guy Blog, saying, “Some important financial information to note.”
Alexander presents Using Income Funds for Diversity and Revenue posted at Dividend Stocks,
saying, “One of the ways that you can build up your investment
portfolio is to look into income funds. Income funds provide you an
opportunity to build a revenue stream, as well as add a little instant
diversity to your portfolio.”
Hemant Beniwal presents 15 Types of Risk that affect your Investments posted at The Financial Literates,
saying, “What comes to your mind when someone says RISK or this
investment is risky? Loosing the principal amount. No there are more
than 15 types of risks – that you must understand before Investing”
Frank Bertin presents Index Funds posted at Top Index Funds, saying, “Top ten no load index funds that track the Standard and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.”
Steve Smith presents Top Advice for Aspiring Currency Traders posted at Forex Trading System Central, saying, “A good way to learn Forex Trading is to practice with virtual currencies on Forex simulation games.”
Everything Finance presents Disadvantages of Investing in Treasury Bills posted at Everything Finance,
saying, “Many people like investing in Treasury bills because they are
generally safe, when compared to other investments. Indeed, even with
current economic troubles, Treasury bills are still backed by the most
stable taxpayer base in the world.”
Mirelle Rowden presents Fixed Income Funds posted at Best Bond Mutual Funds,
saying, “Vanguard dominates this low cost United States bond mutual
funds marketplace for direct purchase accounts with both low and high
minimum deposits.”
Dividends4Life presents 9 Dividend Stocks With A Low P/B Ratio posted at Dividend Growth Stocks,
saying, “A declining market is what value and dividend investors long
for. There have been times in the past where I struggled to find stocks
worthy of purchasing. Now, the challenge is to pick the best available
stocks that will maximize my chances of future success. When looking
for value priced stocks, the Price-To-Book (P/B) ratio is one that I
like to focus on.”
Shawanda Greene presents 5 Reasons Past Stock Market Returns Are Totally Irrelevant posted at You Have More Than You Think, saying, “Five reasons historical U.S. stock market returns are irrelevant when it comes to making investment decisions.”
Bradson Oakley presents Bond Mutual Funds posted at Best Bond Funds,
saying, “Higher bond fund expenses tend to mean lower net returns to
individual investors. It is not worth paying higher bond fund fees.”
Ryan presents Target Date Funds: Will Your Funds Hit Their Target? posted at Outlaw Finance, saying, “Target Date funds have become increasingly popular with 401(k) plan investors and managers.”
Dan presents Shorting Treasuries For the Ultimate Risk-Takers posted at ETF Base, saying, “With US Treasury Bonds at lows not seen since WWII, here’s a primer on how I shorted T-Bonds and it’s working!”
My Journey presents Factors to Consider When Consolidating Debt posted at My Journey to Millions,
saying, “I think when people decide to consolidate their debt they are
only looking at the interest rate, however, there are other factors to
consider:”
Mike @ Green Panda presents Should You Work Full Time or Part Time in College? posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “We look at the debate over working in college.”
FMF presents Five Best Ways to Look for a Job posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Looking for a job? Play the odds and focus on these five methods that are most likely to get you the job you want.”
The Skilled Investor presents Market Timing Does Not Work posted at Personal Financial Management,
saying, “Always stay invested to earn risk premiums. You must have your
money invested and at risk to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and
in or “timing the markets” doesn’t work.”
Tripp Danner presents No Load Funds posted at No Load Fund,
saying, “There are over 60,000 different mutual fund investment share
classes sold worldwide. Some mutual funds and ETFs must be better than
others, but which ones are they? How can you tell before the fact?”
Kevin Mulligan presents Use a Financial Planner to Get Your Roth IRA on Track posted at Retirement Planning Blog, saying, “A financial planner can put together an investment plan to get everything on track for retirement.”
Darwin presents Older Americans Are Going to Wreck Your Life – Here’s Why posted at Darwin’s Money,
saying, “There are several surprising demographic and financial reasons
why older Americans are set to wreck your life. Nobody’s talking about
it, but the outcome is undeniable.”
Brockton Eaton presents Long Term Investment Strategies posted at Retirement Investment Strategy,
saying, “The investment research literature repeatedly demonstrates
that a fully diversified, low cost investment strategy is superior.”
Sustainable PF presents Pay yourself first for retirement posted at Sustainable Personal Finance, saying, “Financial planning looks toward retirement. Pay yourself first and you’ll land on your feet.”
DJ presents Homeowner Insurance: How to Protect Your Home and Its Contents posted at The Family Wallet, saying, “Even if you own your home free and clear, homeowners insurance is something you need.”
Glen Craig presents Do You Need Disaster Insurance? What Type Should You Get? posted at Free From Broke,
saying, “Do you need disaster insurance? Depending on where you live
you may find you need disaster insurance. See the different types
available and if you need it.”
Eric J. Nisall presents Savings Accounts: Anything Is Better Than Zero posted at DollarVersity,
saying, “Interest rates are at historic lows, giving people even more
reason NOT to save their money. That’s not the smart approach, and this
is why.”
David Leeman presents Saving Money at Home with Frugal Household Tips posted at Financial Freedom Advantage,
saying, “Do you want some great ideas for saving money at home? By
following these simple tips you can easily reduce your average family
budget and learn how to live frugally at the same time.”
Jason@LiveRealNow presents 3 Worst Things About Being Financially Responsible posted at Live Real, Now,
saying, “Everybody talks about all of the wonderful things that happen
when you’re saving money and being responsible. I know I do. It’s true,
good things do happen. There’s really nothing like the feeling that
you’re suddenly not living paycheck to paycheck. But what about the
other side of the coin? What sucks about staying in the black?”
Matt presents Am I too Cheap? Dealing with my Broken Glasses posted at Living In Financial Excellence,
saying, “Will people notice I have two different colors and styles on
my frames? I don’t know but at this point I’m not too worried about
that. I’m just glad I can see and it didn’t cost me anything yet.”
Paul Gamble presents Choosing the Best Savings Account For Short or Long-Term Interest Yield posted at All Cash On Deck,
saying, “Things to look at when deciding on an ideal savings account,
including different types of savings accounts as well as their benefits
and downsides.”
Walter W. Fouse presents Large Cap Mutual Funds posted at Mutual Funds,
saying, “You can save a lot by paying attention to mutual fund
expenses. Each of these S & P 500 index funds is among the least
costly on the market.”
Philip Taylor presents Is Your Emergency Fund Big Enough? posted at PT Money Personal Finance,
saying, “So, how do you know if your emergency fund is big enough? This
article gives you some points to think about to give you confidence in
your emergency funds.”
Amanda presents 6 Surprising Benefits of the One Car Household posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Could you switch to a one-car household? There are plenty of benefits both financial and otherwise!”
Dr. Dean presents Saving Money: Painlessly! posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog,
saying, “Every little cent helps especially if you start early and
continue regularly. It’s really easy to sock away extra money that
comes in before you have a chance to spend it.”
Jackson presents Pros and Cons of IRA Conversions posted at 2009 Tax,
saying, “Back in 2010 the government changed the rules to allow
investors to move over to Roth IRA’s from their Traditional IRA’s
irrespective of the amount of money that they earned.”
Finley Merriwether presents Retirement Planning Calculator posted at Retirement Plan Calculator,
saying, “Tax-advantaged retirement savings plans give you the
opportunity to make investments with deferred taxes in 401k, 403b, 457,
Keogh, Simple, or other employer sponsored retirement plans.”
Robert Moore presents Monitoring your Federal Tax Refunds via your iphone. posted at 2011 Tax,
saying, “The IRS2Go app was released earlier in the year for the
purposes of allowing people to quickly and easily check the status of
their tax refund.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: carnival of financial planning, blog carnival.
Last weekend I went to see the band Erasure who played at the Sound Academy (used to be the Docks) here in Toronto. It was the first concert I had been to in a few years and was it ever good! Andy Bell can really sing (still) and they put on a fun show. The venue is right on the Toronto harbour and has a great view from the patio.
Here are a few of their songs that I like:
BrokeTO wrote a funny post protesting some of the crappy money saving advice on the internet. It’s hard to cut back when you already have.
Preet Banerjee wrote an excellent post about mutual fund survivorship and backfill performance enhancing tricks. Well worth a read.
Mimi Lee, a financial advisor has some warnings about investing with the banks. She wrote this in response to a comment on my Globe & Mail online chat, where I recommended people set up RESPs at a bank.
Scott Adams wrote a great post on applying systems to your life.
This article about client segmentation was written for financial advisors, but might be useful for clients in case they wonder if their advisor has “fired” them.
Business Insider says that Canada is not a good place to invest.
Retire Happy explains living benefit insurance.
Michael James is sad that the Motley Fool website has come full circle. Unfortunately, there is a lot more money writing about get rich quick investing ideas than there is in passive investing.
The Oblivious Investor came up with a better option to buying equity options.
Canadian Capitalist discusses Vanguard’s best practices for portfolio rebalancing.
Echo wrote about mutual fund fees: the high cost of Canadian funds.
Million Dollar Journey says it’s time for a financial checkup.
My Own Advisor discloses his favourite international equity ETFs.
Having Trouble with Your Student Loans? 3 Options to Help You
On Wednesday I participated in a Globe & Mail online Q&A chat on RESPs – you can read all the questions and answers here.
The Q&A was a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure what to expect in the way of questions, but there were a lot of good topics covered. Thanks to Roma Luciw and Katherine Scarrow for setting it up.
The Globe & Mail also published an excerpt from my e-book “How to withdraw from your RESP” this week.
For those keeping track at home, I was in the Globe twice last week and twice this week. I’m wondering when they will have had enough of me? 🙂
Dan Ariely says that investment advisors ask the wrong questions when discussing retirement planning.
Blunt Bean Counter had a good article called Who is your wealth management quarterback?
Echo is sitting around and wondering what he should do about his RRSP.
Michael James warns that some brokerages won’t give you the preferred rate unless you ask.
My Own Advisor reveals his favourite Canadian equity ETFs.
The Oblivious Investor discusses a conflict in retirement savings. Is the money for living or for your estate?